Is Solar Worth It in Georgia in 2026?
Georgia isn't Arizona, but it isn't Ohio either. A typical Atlanta-area rooftop produces around 1,492 kWh per installed kilowatt per year, and the state sees about 218 sunny days annually — solid, workable production for most of the year. Electricity prices have also been climbing: Georgia homes paid about 14.7¢ per kWh in 2025, up roughly 70 percent since 2005. Every rate hike, in theory, makes the case for solar a little stronger.
But 2026 changed the math in Georgia more than in most states, and you deserve the honest version. The 30 percent federal tax credit that used to knock thousands off a home solar install ended for systems completed after December 31, 2025. That alone stretches payback everywhere. Georgia then compounds it: unlike South Carolina or New Mexico, Georgia never enacted a state income tax credit for residential solar, so there's no second incentive to fall back on. And Georgia Power, the state's dominant utility with about 2.7 million customers, doesn't credit exported power anywhere near retail rate — so the old pitch of "sell your extra power back to the grid at full price" doesn't hold up here. Solar can still work in Georgia, especially for homeowners who size a system to their own usage and plan to stay put for a decade or more. It just requires real numbers, not a 2024 sales script. This page gives you Georgia's numbers.
Georgia Electricity Prices
Solar is a bet on future electricity prices: every kilowatt-hour your roof makes is one you don't buy from the utility. So before panels, it's worth looking at where Georgia rates have actually been heading. Here's the trend, from federal EIA data.
Full Georgia electricity price data (1990–2025)
| Year | Georgia (¢/kWh) | US avg (¢/kWh) |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 7.5 | 7.8 |
| 1991 | 7.5 | 8.0 |
| 1992 | 7.7 | 8.2 |
| 1993 | 7.8 | 8.3 |
| 1994 | 7.7 | 8.4 |
| 1995 | 7.9 | 8.4 |
| 1996 | 7.7 | 8.4 |
| 1997 | 7.7 | 8.4 |
| 1998 | 7.7 | 8.3 |
| 1999 | 7.6 | 8.2 |
| 2000 | 7.6 | 8.2 |
| 2001 | 7.7 | 8.6 |
| 2002 | 7.6 | 8.4 |
| 2003 | 7.7 | 8.7 |
| 2004 | 7.9 | 9.0 |
| 2005 | 8.6 | 9.5 |
| 2006 | 8.9 | 10.4 |
| 2007 | 9.1 | 10.7 |
| 2008 | 9.9 | 11.3 |
| 2009 | 10.1 | 11.5 |
| 2010 | 10.1 | 11.5 |
| 2011 | 11.1 | 11.7 |
| 2012 | 11.2 | 11.9 |
| 2013 | 11.5 | 12.1 |
| 2014 | 11.7 | 12.5 |
| 2015 | 11.5 | 12.7 |
| 2016 | 11.5 | 12.6 |
| 2017 | 11.9 | 12.9 |
| 2018 | 11.5 | 12.9 |
| 2019 | 11.8 | 13.0 |
| 2020 | 12.0 | 13.2 |
| 2021 | 12.5 | 13.7 |
| 2022 | 13.8 | 15.0 |
| 2023 | 13.7 | 16.0 |
| 2024 | 14.1 | 16.5 |
| 2025 * | 14.7 | 17.3 |
Source: US EIA, average residential retail electricity price. Values in cents per kWh. * 2025 is preliminary.
Georgia's residential rate has climbed about 70 percent since 2005, and the pace over just the last decade has held around 2.5 percent a year — a steady grind rather than a single dramatic spike. That's meaningfully faster than general inflation over the same stretch. Georgia Power's generation mix includes nuclear (notably the new Vogtle units), natural gas, and coal, and the utility has passed through both fuel cost swings and large capital projects to ratepayers. None of this guarantees the next ten years look like the last ten, but a state adding population every year, with data-center electricity demand rising fast in the region, is not a state where power is likely to get cheaper.
The Georgia Sun, Month by Month
Panels respond to how high the sun climbs and how long it stays up, not to air temperature. Georgia sits at roughly 33.4°N latitude — well south of the Mason-Dixon line, but still far enough north that the winter sun sits noticeably lower in the sky than it does in Florida or the Gulf Coast.
Georgia monthly solar production data
| Month | kWh per installed kW |
|---|---|
| Jan | 111 |
| Feb | 109 |
| Mar | 132 |
| Apr | 140 |
| May | 142 |
| Jun | 136 |
| Jul | 130 |
| Aug | 131 |
| Sep | 121 |
| Oct | 131 |
| Nov | 116 |
| Dec | 95 |
| Year | 1492 |
Source: NREL PVWatts typical-year estimate (Atlanta), per installed kW at latitude tilt.
The seasonal swing is real: May is Georgia's best production month at roughly 142 kWh per installed kW, while December drops to about 95 — a bigger gap between peak and trough than you'd see closer to the equator. Spring is the sweet spot here, with long days, a high sun angle, and clearer skies before summer's afternoon humidity and pop-up thunderstorms start clipping output. Winter production is the weakest stretch of the year, which matters more in Georgia than in Florida since there's no true net metering left to bank spring surplus against a slow December (more on that below).
What Solar Costs in Georgia in 2026
Most residential solar installs in Georgia run about $2.50 to $3.50 per watt, with 2026 sources clustering around $2.98 to $3.06 on average — some as low as $2.51, others closer to $3.06 depending on installer and equipment. With no federal credit and no state credit to offset the price, the number you negotiate with an installer is essentially the number you pay.
| System Size | Typical 2026 Cost | Roughly Offsets | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 kW | $12,500 to $17,500 | ~7,460 kWh/yr (~$91/mo at 14.7¢) | Smaller home, lower usage |
| 8 kW | $20,000 to $28,000 | ~11,936 kWh/yr (~$146/mo) | Average Georgia home |
| 12 kW | $30,000 to $42,000 | ~17,904 kWh/yr (~$219/mo) | Large home, heavy AC use |
Georgia does not exempt solar equipment from sales tax, so unlike a state such as Florida, there's no automatic percentage saved at checkout. Prices vary by region, roof complexity, and equipment brand, so compare price-per-watt across at least three quotes rather than trusting a single number.
Estimate Your Georgia Payback
The calculator below is set to Georgia's average electricity rate and typical Atlanta-area sun production. Enter your own monthly power bill to see an estimated system size, payback period, and 25-year savings. Georgia's rate has climbed about 2.5 percent a year over the last decade — a reasonable starting point for the inflation field, and you can adjust it up or down to see how sensitive your payback is to future rate hikes.
Georgia Solar Incentives in 2026
Here's what's gone, what's disputed, and what's actually available.
- Gone — the 30 percent federal credit: The federal Residential Clean Energy Credit ended for installations completed after December 31, 2025, with no phase-out. If an installer's quote still assumes it, that's a sign the rest of their numbers are outdated too.
- Never existed — a Georgia state tax credit: Georgia has no state income tax credit for residential solar, and never has. O.C.G.A. § 48-7-29.14 offers a credit for clean-energy property, but it targets business and manufacturing equipment, not homeowner rooftop systems — confirm with a CPA before assuming any eligibility.
- Disputed — property tax treatment: Some sources point to O.C.G.A. § 48-5-48.1 or §48-5-48.2 as excluding solar's added value from your property assessment; others say no statewide exemption exists and it's left to county tax assessors. Given the conflicting citations, don't assume your bill is protected — call your county Board of Tax Assessors directly before you install.
- Utility-specific rebates: Some electric membership corporations (EMCs) offer their own incentives. Central Georgia EMC, for example, offers a one-time rebate of about $450 per kW installed, capped around $4,500 for a 10 kW system, for its own members, subject to funding and pre-approval. Georgia Power, the state's largest utility, offers no equivalent rebate. Ask your specific utility what, if anything, currently applies.
- Partially — leases and PPAs: Third-party-owned systems can still capture a separate federal business credit (the 48E credit) through 2027, but it belongs to the leasing company. It may show up as a lower monthly lease rate, or it may just widen their margin — compare a lease quote against a cash or loan purchase before assuming it's the better deal.
The Georgia Power Solar Buy Back Program
Most Georgia homeowners are Georgia Power customers, and Georgia Power does not offer true net metering. What it offers instead is the RNR-Instantaneous Netting tariff (RNR-11), marketed as the Solar Buy Back Program. Under this tariff, any excess power your panels send to the grid at a given moment is credited — not banked — at the annual Solar Avoided Cost Rate, which is 3.2188¢ per kWh for 2026, plus a Public Service Commission-approved 4¢ adder from the 2022 rate case. That works out to roughly 7.2¢ per exported kWh, against a retail rate around 13¢. In practical terms, a kWh you use yourself is worth roughly 1.8 times what the same kWh is worth if you send it to the grid.
Eligible systems must be 10 kW AC or smaller, and enrollment is first-come-first-served against a statewide cap of 0.2 percent of Georgia Power's prior-year peak demand — a cap that still had room as of 2026, per the utility's own FAQ. A separate, better program — a true monthly-netting net metering pilot ordered by the state Public Service Commission in 2019 — did exist, but it was hard-capped at 5,000 customers statewide, and that cap was exhausted back in 2021. If you're a Georgia Power customer applying today, that pilot is not an option; only the lower-value Buy Back tariff remains open. If you're on an EMC or municipal utility instead, they set their own net-metering and buy-back terms independently, so ask directly what your utility offers.
The No-Credit, No-Net-Metering Gap
Georgia sits in an unusual spot for 2026: it lost the federal 25D credit like every other state, but it never had a state credit to soften the blow, and its dominant utility doesn't offer real net metering either. Compare that to a state like South Carolina, which still has its own state credit stacking on top of whatever federal incentive remains, or a true net-metering state where 1:1 credits make an oversized system a reasonable bet. In Georgia, neither cushion exists. That doesn't mean solar is a bad idea here — production is solid and rates are climbing — but it does mean the payback math is genuinely longer, and homeowners should treat any Georgia quote that promises a 6-to-8-year payback with real skepticism. The honest range for a well-sized, self-consumption-focused system is longer than that, and you should let the calculator on this page, using your own bill, tell you where you actually land.
How to Go Solar in Georgia
Work through these steps in order before you sign anything.
- Pull your last 12 power bills and find your average monthly cost — the higher it is, the more you stand to save.
- Check that your roof faces south, east, or west and gets mostly unshaded sun through the day.
- Confirm your roof has at least 10 to 15 years of life left, or replace it before installing. Removing and reinstalling panels later to fix a roof costs thousands. See our roofing guide for how to judge remaining roof life.
- Find out which utility serves your home — Georgia Power, an EMC, or a municipal utility — since incentives and export rates differ by provider.
- Get at least three quotes and compare price per watt, not just the total price, and make sure no quote assumes a federal credit that no longer exists.
- Size the system close to your actual usage rather than maxing out your roof, given how little Georgia Power pays for exported power; ask each installer whether a battery makes sense for shifting midday production to evening use.
- Confirm current terms directly with your utility and, if you're a Georgia Power customer, ask specifically about Solar Buy Back enrollment and the statewide cap.
Solar also intersects with your home's electrical capacity and, in wind- or hail-prone parts of the state, your insurance coverage — see our electrical guide and home insurance guide for the details. For the fundamentals of how solar works, sizing, and buying versus leasing, read our main solar panels guide — this page focuses specifically on what's different in Georgia.
Sources
Figures on this page are 2026-current. Rates and production: US EIA, Electric Sales, Revenue, and Average Price (2025 values preliminary) and NREL PVWatts. Federal credit repeal: IRS — Residential Clean Energy Credit and Congressional Research Service IN12611. Net metering and Solar Buy Back: Georgia Power FAQ, DSIRE Program Detail, and EnergySage Georgia Power Net Metering Summary. Incentives and cost: EnergySage Georgia Solar Rebates and Incentives, EnergySage Georgia Solar Panel Cost, O.C.G.A. § 48-7-29.14, and Central Georgia EMC Residential Rebates. Sunshine data: Current Results, Georgia Annual Sunshine. We review these figures every six months.